“When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born, Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb. When the passage into life opened up, he didn’t show.” ~ Hosea 13:13 (MSG)
REFERENCE:
This imagery is quite disheartening; Ephraim sinned against God, and He brought the tribe into distress and trouble – intense sorrows like the pangs of a woman about to give birth. The plan was that the distress would signal the need for repentance to Ephraim and that a new nation would be born. However, Ephraim did not see that but remained distressed and troubled; they were at the threshold of becoming a new nation but never engaged.
A baby at the ‘birth canal’ is in a delicate and risky situation – be born into a new life or delay coming and be stillborn. Some babies at the time of birth lie abridged, have the ‘cord’ wound around their neck, or come out with a limb. These make the birth process unsafe for the baby. If the baby knew how dangerous a prolonged labor is for it, it would not delay in the birth canal.
You may be dealing with a distressing or painful situation right now. It is a signal that change is here. Do you sense something new is coming and that God wants you to do something? You may feel unusual pressure building up all around you – office, home, business, or relationships. They are birth pangs, a signal that change is here. Ask the Holy Spirit what He is saying to you, and then engage – make a move. Reach out, knock on a door, make a call, etc.
Do not put your need for a change till later; let the discomfort you feel be the signal that your transformation/change is here. Don’t despair; you will burst into your new with a little push. Do not delay your peace, deliverance, favor, or joy. Why would you want to hesitate at the point of the birth of the ‘new you?’ Why would the door be open, and you would not want to go through it? Don’t be like Ephraim – don’t stay at the ‘in-between’ place for too long – Engage!
The pain of labor is the signal for change – a woman becomes a mother, and a fetus becomes a child. This season, pray that God will help you to correctly interpret your pains, discomforts, regrets, distresses, etc. You may naturally want to pray them away, but ask God instead to show you what He is saying; they may be the ‘signal for change’ that you desperately need.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Psalm 61:1-2, Isaiah 51:14, and Isaiah 66:7-9
PRAYER POINTS
+ I receive the spiritual understanding to interpret my pain and the seasons of my life rightly.
+ I refuse to be ignorant of any dangerous situation I am in. Please open my eyes to see anything (friendship, habit, or pattern) that is stopping the new me from emerging.
+ Lord, help me to identify and use up the chances you bring my way, in Jesus’ name.
Amen 🙏🏽 🙏🏽
May I not miss my hour of opportunity. May I not be too tired to engage when an opening to my next level comes, in Jesus’ name.